Pohl.
AJ could hear the tension in Sasha’s voice when the man became condescending. Then when he said that his employer would do just about anything to obtain her services, Neil lifted a hand.
“Back that up.”
Sasha paused the recording, replayed it.
“He’s threatening you,” Neil said.
Sasha stopped the playback. “That’s what I got.”
“Did I miss something?” AJ asked. “Sounded like he would offer her whatever she wanted.”
Neil shook his head. “No, he said he would do anything to get her.” He looked at Sasha. “He alluded to others, but do we know who he works for?”
“No idea.”
Neil made little circular motions with his fingers.
Right before Sasha’s voice left the recording, Neil had her stop the tape again.
“What circumstances would need to change for you to take that job?” Neil asked.
Sasha sat in a chair, pushed her feet out in front of her. “How do you get people to do something they don’t want to do?”
“Pay them,” AJ suggested.
“Sasha doesn’t need the money,” Neil said.
“Blackmail.” Sasha sipped her drink.
Neil sat in silence. AJ could see the wheels in the man’s head turning. “Does he have anything?”
Sasha shook her head.
“Then we’ll have to wait and see what he creates.”
She reached for the computer again. “Point taken. And this is where Claire comes in. Richter does not allow unsupervised computer access without firewalls to the outside. Cell phones are prohibited for the students. But when you teach intelligence to your elite students, they find a way. Claire helped me find the hidden upper-class computers that held the data from alumni . . . including me. Which was how I was able to record this conversation and the next one.”
Once again, she pressed play.
Pohl’s voice sounded once again.
“She didn’t take the job.”
A pause.
“Did you really think she would? We move on to plan B. I already have things in motion.”
Neil brushed the back of his hand to the side of his face.
“That doesn’t sound good,” AJ stated the obvious.
“Is there any more?” Neil asked.
“I don’t know. This is the first time I heard the recording. Claire called me from the computer room to tell me my plan worked. I asked her to put it on a drive. I shouldn’t have involved her.”
“Could you have obtained that without her help?” Neil asked.
“Not without a few toys I didn’t bring with me.”
“Then let it go.”
“You just took Claire and left?” AJ asked. “That doesn’t sound like the school my sister went to.”
Sasha rubbed her forehead. “She jumped the fence and found me. She indicated that she wanted to leave when I first met her. Illegally recording a message from a man employing hired guns gave her the excuse she needed.”
“Smart,” Neil said. “How old is she?”
“Eighteen. Richter has their senior class taking their first year in college, so that when and if they leave after they’re eighteen, they have a head start. The second Claire became of age, she could opt out and leave.”
“So why run away?”
“It wouldn’t be without an exit interview and a conversation with her benefactor,” Sasha explained.
“You mean her parents?” Neil asked.
“She’s an orphan. Like me.”
AJ stop with his drink halfway to his lips. The way Sasha had revealed the personal information was so flippant it made his chest ache.
Processing the information didn’t have a chance before the speakers crackled and voices filled the room.
“How did it go?”
“That’s Linette,” Sasha told them.
“Seems your alum has no need of the income I can offer.”
“I warned you that might be the case.”
“I wasted my time, Linette. You know how much I hate doing that.”
“At least you haven’t wasted your money.”
“And you have not earned a finder’s fee.”
“It appears so.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Sasha tilted her head back and muttered in a language AJ didn’t understand. “A finder’s fee?”
Neil stood and crossed to the computer, turned off the audio. “She didn’t sound upset about the loss of money.”
“Doesn’t change the fact she’s taken it in the past.”
AJ finished his drink, set the glass aside. “Or will in the future.”
Sasha pushed up in her chair and reached for the keyboard. “I’m going to need coffee.”
Neil placed a hand on hers. “This will all be here in the morning. The guys in LA are bored stiff. This will give them something to work on while you recharge.”
“This is my—”
“You’re right. And morning is in less than four hours.”
Sasha looked like she was going to argue. Giving up . . . or maybe giving in to the fatigue that was hovering above them like smog, she removed another zip drive from